Folk City 100 Most Essential Folk Songs

Folk Alley has compiled a list of its 100 most essential folk songs as reported at today at NPR. I took a quick look, and would probably revise this some. Unless I missed something the Carter Family (or members there of) show only once at 61 with [Can??] the Circle Be Unbroken (always thought this was Will the Circle Be Unbroken). This is an extreme oversight. Woody Guthrie, Seeger and Weavers and Bill Monroe and a few others are there, but mostly Dylan and post Dylan. And, I believe these are performances of songs, as Goodnight Irene was not written by the Weavers, but by Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter). Suggest getting Shared Vision tribute to Guthrie/Ledbetter or any of the three Will the Circle Be Unbroken anthologies by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

June 23, 2009

A reader commented off line:

I am pretty weak on folk (which is not to suggest I am strong in other areas), so my views would not be worth much.

Whether the Band and the Byrds qualify as folk singers, I would have some doubt; and Barry McGuire, “Eve of Destruction,” is not too folkish to me – but what do I know?

My response:

That was my reaction. Will have to check out Folk Alley, as I think they have strayed down other streets.

If you are interested, a great folk resource is Roger McGuinn's (of the Byrds) Folk Den at: http://www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/mcguinn/index.html

and his related podcast, through which he is trying to keep true folk music alive by recording and releasing by podcast versions of traditional folk songs. The podcast is free at iTunes as McGuinn's Folk Den. He releases one new song a month. At iTunes there are links to other folk podcasts, including a Folk Alley podcast that I was unaware of.